Mark Zuckerberg Did an Insane Virtual Reality Demo

We’ve all heard a thing or two about virtual reality (VR). The closest thing to VR that most of us have experienced is probably in gaming arcades.

But what if we told you that you won’t be stuck with just VR gaming for long? What if the future of VR is hanging out with your friends and doing anything or going anywhere you want together without even stepping of your house?

Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated just that at last week’s annual Oculus Connect keynote event.

Image: CNET

Showing off Facebook’s latest developments for social interaction in VR, Zuckerberg revealed the Oculus Avatar, which allows users to interact with a computer-generated environment as well as other users.

The Oculus Avatar is not your average avatar devoid of facial expressions. You can customise your virtual self, and select your own outfit, accessories and hairstyle with more than a billion possible modifications. The avatar can also mimic your facial expressions, and hand and body movements! This enables you to communicate what you’re feeling, making VR a much more intimate space.

Once you’ve personalised your avatar, Oculus Parties and Rooms allow you to start a voice call with up to eight people from anywhere in VR, meet people in the metaverse, and transport yourself to a 360° video.

Yup, you read that right. That means you’re able to be anywhere virtually at any time!

Watch how Zuckerberg and the team ‘teleported’ to the bottom of the ocean and all the way to Mars:
As the Facebook CEO demonstrated, you can also play games and watch movies with this new tech.

Sounds like Facebook is planning to transform the social network from a place where you update your status and post photos, into a place where you can hang out virtually and feel as if you’re communicating with your friends face-to-face.

Well, we reckon you should still step out of the house from time to time. But it’ll definitely be cool to travel to space right from the comfort of your own bedroom!

Oculus Parties and Rooms will be available for Gear VR soon in the next few weeks and for the Oculus Rift early next year.